Beyond Bounds: ‘Brutally Honest’ Grandpa Helps Create An All-American

Junior Taylor Young’s not only a preseason All-American selection, but her Tommies are ranked No. 4 nationally after finishing third at the NCAA tournament last season.credit: [Mike Ekern/University of St. Thomas]

You probably would have cried, too.

From as early on as elementary school, Taylor Young‘s grandfather dished out basketball critiques of his granddaughter without pulling any punches.

“He is pretty brutally honest,” Young said. “He’d say ‘You played horrible.’ He made all of us cry on a regular basis. It definitely helped me in the long run. That’s his coaching style, once you know he’s not trying to personally hurt your feelings.”

Erdman’s feedback – plus Young’s father, Rodney, sharing his knowledge of the game, as he was a Division II player in his time – provided the groundwork for Young to quickly develop into a star on the hardwood.

The St. Thomas junior, who led the Tommies in scoring last year (13 ppg) en route to a third-place finish in the Division III national tournament, is leading UST yet again this winter (11 ppg).

Scoring more than 1,000 points for Edina High School after joining the team as an eighth grader, Young has brought her success to the collegiate level and hasn’t lost a MIAC conference crown since wearing purple. The 2011-12 team went 22-0 in league play last year.

While the No. 4-ranked Tommies are 7-1 overall, 5-0 in the conference, the exercise science major took a time out to share her post-graduation dreams of working in third-world countries.

Taylor Young has no problem admitting that Netflix has control of her, especially with shows such as “Alias” and “Prison Break.”credit: [Thomas Whisenand/University of St. Thomas]

How weird is it seeing your mom around campus?
Sometimes I bump into her on my way to class. She’s taking Spanish and macroeconomics for fun. (Taylor’s mother takes courses for free, given her daughter is a student).

If you’re not playing basketball or studying, you’re … ?
Watching Netflix. I’m addicted, and currently re-watching “Alias.” I watched “Prison Break” and it destroyed six months of my life. I also love doing yoga in the offseason.

Surprised by the preseason All-America selection?
I don’t really think that kind of stuff matters a ton. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll be anything at the end of the season.

Team goals for 2012-13?
Our goal is to get back to the Final Four and win a national championship, hopefully. We have a lot of talented players, but then we become good friends and that’s what makes us so good – we don’t play individually. Coach (Ruth Sinn) holds us to high standards, we have intense practices and work hard.

Why not possibly have played Division I instead?
I talked to a few, but my sister Lauren had a bad experience at Colorado State and didn’t enjoy it. She never came home for Thanksgiving and barely made it back for Christmas. I didn’t want that.

Plans after graduation?
Probably grad school for nursing, but I would love to travel and get experiences like that under my belt. My dream vacation is Africa. I want to go and be in a village, work with people, and be involved in medicine while I’m there.

Favorite food?
I can never say no to Davanni’s pizza. My favorite pizza has pepperoni, sausage and banana peppers on it.